So I found myself yesterday at an airport at 0530 for a flight that was to leave at 0759, only to find out the plane hadn't come in the previous evening - and the earliest flight home for me started boarding in a scant 11 hours. I had already checked out of my hotel and turned in my rental car, so I had pretty much a full day to look forward to at the airport.
Fortunately, I had two novels with me, each about 550 pages long.
The first was Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear, of which I had already gotten through the first 200 pages earlier in the week. Despite it being a Nebula Award winner, it was an excruciatingly dull read. It had an interesting premise but boring, flat characters; a tedious pace; and an unfinished ending that left me not in the least bit interested in hunting up the sequel, Darwin's Children. I can't recommend it.
Fortunately, the next book was Desperation by Stephen King. I devoured 350 pages of it before I had to give up reading for the day, because I was yawning nonstop and my eyes kept watering. (Fortunately, I was in the last hour of my last flight for the day by then.) But it's a decidedly creepy book, with interesting characters and a plot that I can't wait to see resolved. I'd put it up there among King's creepiest novels, although it's rather like The Last Stand in that it's setting up a "good vs. evil" confrontation between the main characters. This one I would heartily recommend.
The fact that my 11-hour airport ordeal had me looking forward to finally reaching "desperation" is not lost on me.
Johnathan
Fortunately, I had two novels with me, each about 550 pages long.
The first was Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear, of which I had already gotten through the first 200 pages earlier in the week. Despite it being a Nebula Award winner, it was an excruciatingly dull read. It had an interesting premise but boring, flat characters; a tedious pace; and an unfinished ending that left me not in the least bit interested in hunting up the sequel, Darwin's Children. I can't recommend it.
Fortunately, the next book was Desperation by Stephen King. I devoured 350 pages of it before I had to give up reading for the day, because I was yawning nonstop and my eyes kept watering. (Fortunately, I was in the last hour of my last flight for the day by then.) But it's a decidedly creepy book, with interesting characters and a plot that I can't wait to see resolved. I'd put it up there among King's creepiest novels, although it's rather like The Last Stand in that it's setting up a "good vs. evil" confrontation between the main characters. This one I would heartily recommend.
The fact that my 11-hour airport ordeal had me looking forward to finally reaching "desperation" is not lost on me.
Johnathan
